Baby Penguin Makes Public Debut at Long Beach Aquarium

A baby penguin made a big move to its public debut at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific on Tuesday, August 8, 2017.

(Published Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017)

You packed about a thousand boxes. You ran to the donation center, like, eight times. And you gave away the clothes that no longer fit.

Then, on the day of the big move to your new home? Well, you moved, over several busy hours, and, to your mild dismay, no one stood on the sidewalk, lending you support and cheering you on.

That, dear humans, is not how a penguin moves at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. There are devoted supporters standing by, the keepers and staffers of the aquarium, wishing the little mover well, and there are no boxes involved, nor record albums or weird lamps that don't really work to transport.

One only need gaze upon the aquatic institution to see the sweetness that went down, before opening hours, on Tuesday, Aug. 8. The newest Magellanic penguin chick, a baby bird born in May, made its public debut on that date, and the move from the behind-the-scenes nursery to the June Keyes Penguin Habitat was a smooth one.

After all, all the young penguin needed to do was waddle out, in an easy, no-rush fashion, with no moving trucks or boxes required.

The baby's parents? Roxy and Floyd. The baby's webcam debut? The exciting moment happened near the end of June 2017. Has the youngster now fledged? It has, meaning that those softer-than-soft downy feathers have been replaced, in recent weeks, by juvenile feathers, which can easily withstand repeated plunges into the H2O.

And penguins do so love water-fun plunging, again and again, which is the tried-and-true penguin way.

To help this young'un, you can contribute to the aquarium's Adopt an Animal program. Contribute $100 and nab "... a chance to go behind the scenes for a feeding and training session with the penguins." Fun and educational, both, which, really, are the same thing.

Need to see this toddling tot in person? You can, starting on Aug. 8, at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Bouncing Baby Penguin is no longer all that wee, and it can't be cuddled in a human's hand, but finding a coo or two, as you watch the growing bird before your admiring eyes, will be an easy act.